1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to toys and, more particularly, to a flying toy vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
The term xe2x80x9crotary aircraftxe2x80x9d is used to designate conventional rotary-wing aircraft such as helicopters having fuselages designed for independent non-rotational positioning with respect to a rotary wing and to aircraft lacking such fuselages.
It is well know to aeronautical engineers familiar with rotor design that a fixed-pitch rotor is inherently unstable in hover. A rotor comprising a hub with a plurality of blades, which are fixed in pitch with respect to the hub, will, when operated in hover (i.e. without horizontal movement), be disturbed by any incident wind perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The disturbance is characterized by the aerodynamic center of the rotor moving from the axis of rotation towards the source of the wind. The resulting aerodynamic imbalance causes the rotor to pitch. Because it is spinning, gyroscopic forces also cause the rotor to roll in a direction dependent upon the sense of rotor rotation. These combined forces act to cause the rotor to follow a circular flight path and this can cause the rotor to increase in pitch and roll in an uncontrolled manner.
As such, the blades of rotary aircraft are susceptible to damage from impacts resulting from unintentionally crashing the rotary aircraft when in hover. Of course, a crash due to any circumstance may cause damage to the blades of the rotary aircraft. Moreover, the blades of a rotary aircraft are susceptible to damage from impacts when landing, particularly when the blades rotate in a direction at least partially perpendicular to the ground.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to have apparatus for protecting the blades of rotary aircraft from damage due to any circumstance and to further have a flying toy vehicle that includes such apparatus.
The problems stated above, as well as other related problems of the prior art, are solved by the present invention, which is directed to a flying toy vehicle.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary aircraft and launching assembly that includes a launching platform, a hub, and a plurality of blades. The launching platform has a funnel-shaped portion. The hub has a cone-shaped portion for being supported by the funnel-shaped portion of the launching platform during at least a launching of the rotary aircraft. The plurality of blades extends generally outwardly from the hub for generating lift.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary aircraft that includes a hub, a plurality of blades, and at least one propulsion device. The plurality of blades extends generally outwardly from the hub for generating lift. The at least one propulsion device is mounted to at least one of the plurality of blades. The at least one propulsion device has propellers and at least one downrib. The downrib is disposed on the at least one of the plurality of blades, proximate to the at least one propulsion device, for protecting at least the propellers of the at least one propulsion device from impact damage.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary aircraft that includes a hub, a plurality of blades, and at least one connector. The plurality of blades extends generally outwardly from the hub for generating lift. The at least one connector connects at least one blade from among the plurality of blades to the hub such that the at least one blade is partially releasable from the hub upon an impact so as to dissipate any impact forces imparted upon the at least one blade.
According to still yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary aircraft that includes a hub, a plurality of blades, a plurality of blade attachment devices, and at least one connector. The plurality of blades extends generally outwardly from the hub for generating lift. Each of the plurality of blade attachment devices respectively attaches one of the plurality of blades to the hub. The at least one connector connects the hub to at least one blade attachment device having a blade attached thereto such that the blade is partially releasable from the hub upon an impact to the blade so as to dissipate any impact forces imparted upon the blade.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.